Chapter 613: Biwegun (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 613: Biwegun (5)
What was that about? Why was she reacting like that?
“A fiancée… Do you know… who she is?”
“How would I know? I just heard she exists.”
“Ah…”
She didn’t look well.
I wasn’t sure why she was acting this way, but it was clear she’d had no idea he had a fiancée.
Does that bastard actually have one?
“This isn’t important, so let’s move on.”
“No, I think we still need to talk about—!”
“Still no one you suspect?” I asked, picking up the pace.
I felt Yuri’s hand tighten on my collar.
Suspect. It was the same question I’d asked her when I first arrived in the North. With things this twisted, I figured someone from the bloodline had to be involved in the rebellion. Is there anyone you suspect?
When I’d asked her then, Yuri had said no.
“But things might have changed by now, right?”
“...”
At this point, it was a certainty that someone from the bloodline had plotted this uprising. So, I asked again.
“…That is.”
Yuri’s reaction was strange.
“Looks like you have someone in mind, don’t you?”
She definitely knew something.
“…No, sir.”
“I’m serious. If you don’t talk, I’m really going to leave you behind.”
“...”
I meant it this time. If she wouldn’t even give me this much, it was better to just cut her loose.
“Hmm.”
Still no answer. Just as I was about to release my grip and toss her aside…
“I-It’s not for certain,” Yuri finally spoke up. “It’s just… a suspicion.”
“Why are you sugarcoating it? I’ve been asking from the start: who do you suspect?”
I wasn’t looking for a definitive answer, just a possibility.
“...”
After a moment’s hesitation, Yuri finally spoke.
“…The Second Young Master.”
“The Second Young Master?”
The Palace Lord’s second child, then?
“Why?”
“Because he’s the most likely suspect…”
I gave a slight nod. It was a reason I could easily accept.
In terms of succession, the position usually goes to the firstborn son. The story of a second son drawing his sword to claim that seat… it was a tale as old as time. The Second Young Master, resentful of his position, aiding a rebellion—it was the most logical explanation.
“But that’s not the only reason you suspect him, is it?”
“...”
From her reaction, I could tell there was more. I pressed her on the assumption.
“…My brother, the Second Young Master, was always full of complaints.”
Right. Just as I thought, Yuri added another reason.
“The position of Young Palace Lord was already designated for my eldest brother… but in terms of talent, my second brother was superior.”
“So he was bitter.”
“Yes. He always lamented that he could never become the Palace Lord because of something decided the moment he was born.”
So, having witnessed that resentment, she immediately thought of the Second Young Master when she heard a blood relative was involved.
That’s more than enough to be suspicious.
The talented second son. The first son who, despite being less gifted, secured the position simply by being the eldest. The second son, filled with spite, starts a rebellion.
I’ve heard this story too many times.
I nodded. It was information worth keeping in mind. I slightly tightened my grip on her, which I had been about to relax.
“Haa…”
Yuri let out a sigh. She must have realized how much danger she’d just been in. As I’d noticed before, she was quick on the uptake.
At most, we had half an hour left. As the energy grew thicker, I increased my speed.
“…May I ask you something as well?” Yuri took the opportunity to speak.
“What is it?”
Was she going to ask about the fiancée again? Just as that thought crossed my mind…
“How did you get out of the hideout?”
“What?”
The random question almost broke my concentration.
“What do you mean, how did I get out?”
I just walked out. What other way was there? As I spoke with a tone of disbelief, Yuri continued with a peculiar expression.
“The hideout… is protected by high-level sorcery. Unless you are of the bloodline, you shouldn’t be able to enter, leave, or even move around easily without knowing the designated path…”
“…What did you say?”
I frowned. Sorcery? Not a formation, but sorcery.
That’s what the Immortal Healer used.
I’d seen that technique years ago when she treated Zhuge Hyuk with the White Demonic Stone. I remembered it being similar to the formations others used, yet distinctly different. It didn’t use complex calculations; she just waved her hands a few times, and a mystical scene unfolded along with her energy.
Immediately after, the White Demonic Stone used as a sacrifice vanished, and Zhuge Hyuk was able to speak again. The Immortal Healer had been unconscious for over two weeks after that, but it didn’t change the fact that it was a mysterious power. When I asked her how it was possible, she never gave me an answer.
And that kind of power…
Was in that cave?
But I hadn’t felt a thing. Far from being difficult to navigate, I had moved around with ease and found the exit without any trouble.
…Wait a minute.
I remembered the moment I parted ways with the White Ripple Sword. As I was leaving, she watched me, but for some reason, she didn’t follow. At the time, I just thought she had no intention of stopping me.
What if she simply couldn’t catch me?
If she failed to catch me because of the sorcery, that would make sense. Furthermore…
No wonder I thought there were too few guards.
I had felt that the number of sentries inside and outside the hideout was remarkably low. At first, I thought their forces were thin because they had to evacuate in a hurry. But if the sorcery was handling the security, it all added up.
The problem was…
Why couldn’t I feel it?
If Yuri was right, I should have sensed something. How could I have felt nothing at all?
Just as the question crossed my mind…
Thud.
I came to a halt.
“Young Master Gu—?”
“…Be quiet for a second.” I cut Yuri off. “I think we’ve arrived.”
“Pardon?” Yuri’s eyes widened. “…Here?”
“Yeah.”
“But there’s… nothing here.”
The blizzard still raged under the black sky, obscuring our vision and making it impossible to see even a few feet ahead. We were standing in the middle of a vast, snow-covered plain; it was only natural for Yuri to find it strange.
“No. This is the place.”
I could tell.
Shhh.
I reached out my hand. As I waved it slightly in front of me…
Woooong!
I felt something at my fingertips. At first, I thought it was a barrier, but this felt different—like a ripple in water.
A formation? Or something else? I didn’t know what it was yet, but one thing was certain.
I can feel this?
I was sensing a subtle vibration throughout my body that I shouldn’t have been able to feel before. I looked at Yuri with wonder. How could she not feel a sensation this thick and clear?
Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to feel something like this either. Not when Namgung Bi-ah split the Black Palace’s formation, nor when Woo Hyuk found the entrance to the Heavenly Dragon Academy’s secret vault. Unlike them, I had never been able to sense such things.
So, for me to be able to feel it now meant…
“Tsk…”
It seemed that awakening the Heart Fist had brought about a change in me. How strange.
So this is what it feels like.
Hearing things from formations, smelling scents… I never understood what kind of bullshit that was, but now, I could slightly…
No, I still don’t get that part.
Scents and sounds were still a mystery to me. But at least I could vaguely understand the presence. I turned to Yuri.
“Do you know where we are?”
“…I do not.” Yuri shook her head.
With nothing but a field of snow in every direction, there was no way to know our location. Besides, we had relied solely on the trail of energy to get here.
“Are you sure… this is the destination?”
“Yeah.”
It was beyond this point.
Vmmm! Vmmm!
I could clearly feel a vibration coming from beyond the barrier.
Fwoosh!
I released my energy, spreading it around me. I was checking for enemies, but I didn’t sense any. I waved my hand through the shimmering ripples a few more times, then tried to push deeper.
Pzzzzzt!
An unknown pressure pushed my hand back.
“Hmm.”
What should I do? It didn’t seem like I could just walk through.
Can’t I slip through a gap like they did?
Like Namgung Bi-ah or Woo Hyuk. Couldn’t I just cut it with my sword? With that in mind, I stared at the ripples.
No matter how I look, I don’t see a gap…
I couldn’t see anything of the sort. So, what now? I couldn’t just pass by, and I couldn’t see a way to break through. Should I try to dismantle it? I was certain that even if I tried, I wouldn't succeed before the night was over.
Should I turn back?
I can’t do that.
Having come this far, I wouldn’t turn back. Besides, how could I, when I could feel a vibration from the other side?
I could feel Thunder Fang beyond this barrier. Knowing that and turning back? There was no way.
“Young Master Gu…?”
I twisted my waist slightly and clenched my fist.
Will it work?
I didn’t know. Even as I took my stance, I was filled with doubt. How to use it, whether I could use it again—I hadn’t even tried to figure it out since I’d come to my senses.
I could only believe that I could do it. That was all I had.
“When there’s no other way, you know…”
You just choose the simplest method. If you can’t figure it out with your head, you smash it first. That was the method that suited me best.
Wuuuung!
Something emerged from my heart and coiled around my fist. An immense emptiness washed over me in an instant.
“You just have to go back to basics.”
I thrust my fist toward the ripples.
Heart Fist.
FWOOOOSH!
A calamity erupted from the tip of my fist.
* * *
KUUUUUUNG!!
An immense vibration shook the surroundings.
“…!”
Namgung Bi-ah, who had just barely fallen asleep, snapped her eyes open. She shot up and stared into the distance.
“Ah…?”
Her eyes widened. She couldn’t help it.
The stench, which had started to return after she lost her ‘mask’…
Was gone.